Marik sat on the couch and Tea rejoined the group, sitting next to him. Tristan and Joey had been sitting on the floor near a table; Yugi sat on the side opposite them. He and Joey had apparently been in the middle of a duel, when Yugi had heard his grandpa laughing uncontrollably and that was why he'd come out.
"Did you find out what was so funny?" Joey asked, laying a card down. Yugi shook his head and played a stronger monster, putting Joey at a disadvantage.
"No," he looked at Marik, "what was he laughing at?"
At first, this made him nervous, but he quickly chose to turn it on the spiky-haired boy.
"Me, actually," he was acting shy, "he tried scaring me into thinking he was homophobic."
Yugi gave an obviously forced laugh. "Grandpa? No, he doesn't care about things like that."
"Obviously not," Marik's tone slipped toward sinister, "considering he thinks you're gay, too."
Yugi fumbled and dropped his cards. "What?"
Marik had to fight back laughter, causing him to grin awkwardly. "Uh-huh... after he came clean and told me my personal life wasn't his business, he straight up asked why I wasn't interested in hitting on you."
Yugi blushed. "Well, that doesn't mean he thinks I'm gay, does it?" he asked defensively.
"Nah, Yuge," Joey cast a glare at Marik, "this fag's just pullin' yer leg."
Marik tensed, but Tea was lightning quick to smack Joey across the face. The blonde screamed, more in surprise than real pain, and threw his cards down on the table.
"What the heck d'ya do that for, Tea?" he slurred, but the fire in her eyes told him to watch his mouth.
"You should be more considerate of others, Joey!" she tried to keep her tone even. "Marik may have hurt us in the past, but he's done nothing to you since he's been back and I'm sick of the way you two," she quickly shifted her gaze to Tristan, "behave around him now."
"Hey," Tristan put his hands in defensive, "I didn't say anything!"
"Maybe not," Tea put her hand over her heart, "but you haven't made any positive efforts, either."
Tristan sat back quietly, but Joey was fuming. Yugi had done his best not to interfere, but he didn't want his day to be ruined. He switched to Yami whose authoritive voice demanded attention. "That's enough."
Everyone looked in his direction. His posture was calm, but his eyes were clouded. "Marik, you shouldn't play with people's emotions. Not everyone is as comfortable with sexuality as you are."
"Tch," Marik looked away, but his name was called threateningly by his Pharaoh. His shoulders became tense as he growled submissively, "fine, I'll apologize to Yugi later."
"Can't he hear us right now?" Joey asked smugly. Marik growled, but Yami spoke before he could.
"A face-to-face apology is more meaningful," sharp, royal eyes cast down at the kneeling blonde. "Marik knows this, Joey, but do you?"
It was Joey's turn to growl, "you expect me to apologize to him?" he cast a finger at Marik who had to strongly resist swatting it away. The hand lowered on its own, as well as Joey's voice. "No way."
Again, Yami's voice demanded respect from the name it called. The blonde looked up with pure hatred, but when their eyes met he realized he was now arguing with Yugi's other self. His own words came back in a wave of guilt as he wondered what his best friend must think of him now. Although he had to swallow all of his pride, he looked up at the boy he'd insulted.
"Marik," his hand clenched into a fist and trembled. Marik tried to ignore it. "I'm sorry."
Marik opened his mouth but Yami continued speaking. "Lastly, Tea; I know you meant well, but Joey and Marik need to work out their differences on their own. Turning against your friends is only going to increase tension between everyone."
Tea blushed, "I guess you're right." She held a hand out to Joey, "I'm sorry I hit you," and the other to Marik, "and I'm sorry I didn't let you defend yourself."
The boys grinned. Marik told her, "it's better you interfered, really. I've never been called that word before, and wasn't really sure how to react to it."
Joey took Tea's hand and she helped him to his feet. He said to Marik, "I wasn't tryin' to offend ya. My father's a loser and I picked up a lot of nasty words from him that I sometimes use without thinkin'."
Yami smiled, satisfied with the turnout. He switched back to Yugi who had been watching the whole time and was glad that everyone seemed to cooperate. Marik caught sight of the smaller boy and smiled guiltily.
"Yugi," he said, moving past Tea and Joey to reach him, "I'm sorry I acted so twisted. I wanted to make you nervous, but I didn't think about your feelings." He chuckled suddenly, "the only person I really spend time with is Bakura and, well, you know how he is."
"Well, no wonder you don't know how to act around us," Tristan spoke up. He'd thought about what Tea said, and was trying to include himself. "That guy's the last person I'd ask for social advice."
Marik bit his tongue to keep from saying anything sharp. "Yes, he's much more comfortable at home, alone."
Yugi sensed tension returning to the Egyptian and thought quickly. "You know, we haven't eaten any lunch yet."
Marik looked at the boy curiously. Yugi rolled his eyes innocently.
"It's really cold out today, so we probably shouldn't walk anywhere..."
Marik sighed and, for a moment, wished he'd never bragged about his cooking skills. Once Yugi showed him to the kitchen and he familiarized himself with its layout, however, he was happy to be doing something they'd appreciate.
After he made lunch, they five of them got along fairly well for the remainder of the day. When Marik got a call from Ryou saying that his friends would be leaving soon, Joey even showed signs of not wanting him to leave. Granted, they had been in the middle of dueling Yugi together and trying to strengthen Joey's strategy, but it was nice to know he'd made a dent in the boy's rough exterior. Before he stood up to go, he timidly asked Yugi if he could hold the God Cards. Yugi was weary at first, but Marik assured him that he hadn't forgotten why Yugi needed them. After a moment of thought, he decided no harm could come from it and handed the cards to their previous owner. Marik really only cared for one, but it was a nice feeling to be holding them all again. He handled them gently, wondering why he no longer felt their power emanating from them – it was as though only their owner could feel their true energy. He handed Slifer and Obelisk back to Yugi, but held onto Ra just a moment longer. There was a brief moment when he felt something, but it remained faint at best. With a sigh he handed it back and thanked the boy. Truthfully, he wanted to hold his Rod again, too, but he was afraid to ask.
Yugi walked Marik out and they saw that it had begun raining. Marik made a noise of disgust and reluctantly bid his goodbyes. Yugi hesitated, then asked the boy to wait and ran up to his room. Marik did as he was told, ignoring Solomon as best he could, then Yugi returned with something in his hand. He handed it to Marik saying he could borrow it, but he expected it back the next time they hung out. For a moment, Marik wasn't sure what surprised him more – the jacket he had just been given, or the obvious invitation to see him socially again. Marik joked that the jacket would be too small, but Yugi only grinned. When Marik slipped it on, it fit surprisingly well, though it was a bit snug at his waist. He eyed the boy and suddenly both Yugi and Solomon laughed.
The jacket was Yugi's mother's.
Marik took it off as soon as he got home and draped it over his motorcycle. Bakura wouldn't notice it until three days later when Ryou came home from school and checked (as he always did) to see if Marik was home. In the meantime, Ryou's friends had left before Marik had made it home and Ryou had chosen to nap on the couch. Marik got to welcome himself home by planting a kiss on his lover's lips, but was greeted with less enthusiasm as Bakura quickly picked up on familiar scents that gave away where his partner had been all day. Marik then spent the evening reliving his day so his jealous boyfriend would not doubt his loyalty.
They stayed up late that night and thus slept late the next day, not leaving much room for activity. Once more, Ryou asked them to reconsider their plans for the following day, though this time he was not granted control of his body and thus could only talk to Bakura. Ultimately, the couple decided they would just relive their first date, only this time they would do it right. They viewed the movie schedule for the local theatre, and discussed restaurants in the area trying to decide which one would make their date perfect.
Marik woke up in the morning and slinked down to the kitchen to make breakfast. He worked hurriedly, though Bakura was just beginning to stir when his partner returned to the bedroom with two diet-specific morning meals. Bakura smirked and sat up, not bothering to tell Marik that he hardly ever enjoyed eating this early. Marik crawled back into bed and sat beside his boyfriend, leaning over to plant a kiss on his cheek. Bakura turned his head and caught the boy's lips, slipped a hand into his hair and deepened it just enough to take his breath away. He pulled away slowly and whispered 'I love you', knowing that it'd drive his uke wild. Marik did his best to enjoy his breakfast and couldn't help but note that Bakura was taking his sweet time. By the time they finished, he was hardly in the mood anymore, but then Bakura kissed him again and emotion took over from there. Though it was a rarity in their relationship, there were times where Marik felt as though they weren't 'having sex' but they were making love, and that morning was one of them. Feeling more than satisfied, the Egyptian nearly fell asleep and forgot about the day ahead of them.
The movie wasn't the best mood-setter, but the sun began to set as they were driving to the restaurant and Bakura kept his arms wrapped obediently around his lover's waist during the drive. They had chosen a less extravagant location than they'd originally discussed, having both agreed that being somewhere too upscale would make them feel uncomfortable.
About halfway through dinner, Marik said, "you know, Bakura, there's something I wanted to ask you tonight."
Bakura braced himself, unable to remember the last time he'd heard such seriousness in his boyfriend's voice. "What is it, Marik?" A pause, then he added quite uncharacteristically, "is everything alright?"
Marik looked up in confusion, but smiled, "of course it is. I've just been thinking. Winter break is coming up soon."
"Marik, autumn break just ended today," Bakura laughed. "You just took a week off from work even though the museum's closing for the season soon. I think you should worry more about that."
Marik shook his head, "they love me there, honey. I've told you that. You just never get the chance to visit."
"I will next year," Bakura grinned. Marik smiled and nodded, but didn't want to get sidetracked.
"Anyway, what I wanted to ask you was..." he blushed and felt his voice hitch.
It's not that big a deal, he told himself. Just ask him.
Bakura felt concern as he watched his lover take an unplanned sip of water. On the surface, he hid his feelings well enough, but Marik could sense that he was uneasy. He took a deep breath and mustered all his confidence to try once more.
"Bakura," his voice shook, so he steadied it. Then, perfectly clear, he asked, "will you go to Egypt with me?"
When his question was met with silence, Marik couldn't help but stare at his boyfriend, trying to read his expression. Though he faltered at times, however, Bakura was still a master at masking his emotions when he wanted to be, and this was apparently one of those times.
Like, on a date... a really special date.
The words played in Bakura's head, and truthfully he was happy. Possibly, this was why he pretended to be emotionless. Happiness was something he had come to known since he'd fallen in love, but it was still a foreign concept to him and he wasn't sure how to respond to it. At the same time, his dominant nature scoffed at his softened heart for allowing itself to feel such happiness. Eventually, he would smile and accept Marik's offer.